The present invention relates to an improved method for producing insoluble sulfur product. More particularly the present invention relates to a process wherein the sulfur being processed has improved flow characteristics, the product produced has improved stability and wherein the coproduction of tailings is virtually eliminated.
Insoluble sulfur is, by definition, sulfur which is insoluble in carbon disulfide. This form of sulfur is generally understood to be polymeric in nature, the polymer chains being made up of up to several thousand sulfur atoms. Insoluble sulfur is distinguished from soluble sulfur, which is crystalline in form.
The term "insoluble sulfur product", as used herein, means a product which is predominantly insoluble sulfur, but which may and usually does contain some soluble sulfur. The amount of soluble sulfur present in an insoluble sulfur product is usually less than about 10%. As a practical matter, most commercial grades of insoluble sulfur contain some soluble sulfur and are therefore insoluble sulfur products, as that term is used herein.
The most important use for insoluble sulfur product is as a vulcanizing agent in the rubber-making industry. In this industry, sulfur is used as a crosslinking (vulcanizing) agent in rubber compound formulations.
For use in rubber compounding, it is generally preferred that the sulfur be in the form of fine particulate matter wherein the individual particles are no greater in size than about 200 microns in their largest dimension. This fine consistency is desired because it facilitates the uniform distribution of the sulfur throughout the rubber formulation.
The basic process by which insoluble sulfur product is prepared is old and well-known in the art. This basic process comprises heating a sulfur product to vaporize it, and then quenching it in carbon disulfide. Most of the soluble sulfur goes into solution in the carbon disulfide, while the insoluble sulfur is solidified and becomes suspended in the carbon disulfide. The resulting insoluble sulfur product particles are then removed from the carbon disulfide by filtration, centrifugation or the like; and are subsequently washed with carbon disulfide to remove additional amounts of soluble sulfur, and dried.
The carbon disulfide solution of soluble sulfur is then heated to evaporate the carbon disulfide, which is recovered and recycled. The soluble sulfur which remains after the carbon disulfide is evaporated is remelted and charged back to the beginning of the process.
In an improved process, small amounts of a hydrocarbon oil are added as a processing aid to the sulfur before it is vaporized. This oil addition seems to improve the flow characteristics of the material being processed so that there are less problems with "slugging" in the process conduits than is the case without the oil. In addition, the use of the hydrocarbon oil appears to improve the stability of the final product.
It has been postulated that the improvements associated with the oil addition are actually due to the presence of hydrogen sulfide, which is generated by a reaction between the hydrocarbon oil and sulfur.
The use of hydrocarbon oil addition, however, can have an adverse effect on product quality. The hydrocarbon oil can degrade during the processing of the sulfur in which case the degraded oil will appear as a contaminant in the final product in the form of fine black specks.
While the major amount of insoluble sulfur product which is generally produced by the processes just described is usually in the fine particulate form desired for rubber processing, a small proportion, ranging up to about 20% by weight, can consist of particles which are undesirably large (i.e., over about 200 microns). These particles, called "tailings" are separated from the bulk of the product and recycled back to the process. The coproduction of such tailings therefore can represent a loss of production capacity.
A need therefiore exists for an improved process for producing insoluble sulfur product wherein improved product handling characteristics and product stability similar to that available through the use of hydrocarbon oil addition are achieved without contaminating the product with black specks; and wherein the coproduction of tailings is virtually eliminated.